At 4.30 am, two ‘mehnati kudiyan’ rise to milk cattle, and push a thriving dairy business
At 4.30 am, Jashanpreet Kaur, 19, and her 17-year-old sister Supandeep Kaur begin their day by feeding their family's cattle in Ladhuwala Uttar village of Fazilka. The sisters, who grew up watching their parents struggle financially, encouraged their parents to invest in dairy farming. Today, the family owns 22 cows and buffaloes valued at around Rs 30 lakh, selling nearly 100 kg of milk daily for Rs 5,000.
The income from milk, along with sales of calves and young animals, allows the family to maintain a profit margin of 40-50 percent. The dairy business has significantly improved their lives, enabling them to own a tractor, farm implements, a house, and a car. The family also leases additional agricultural land. The expansion of the dairy began when the sisters, then 11 and 9 years old, started taking responsibility for household work and caring for the animals.
Their parents, Gurvinder Singh and Simarjeet Kaur, were motivated by their daughters' support and gradually expanded their dairy. The family has repaid a loan taken initially to build the shed and buy animals. The success of the dairy business has also changed the choices available to the children. Jashanpreet is pursuing a B.Sc. in Fashion Designing and learning boutique-related work, while Supandeep is pursuing graduation through open education and wants to join the police.
Despite the demanding daily routine, the sisters have no plans to move away from the dairy business. The family is considering adding goats and horses to their livestock, and their 10-year-old brother, Gursikhdeep, is already helping with household and dairy work while continuing his studies. The sisters are known as Mehnati Kudiyan, or hardworking girls, by their community.
Their parents are proud of their daughters not only for their work but also for their understanding of family responsibilities at a young age and their motivation to work despite the prevalence of mobile phones and social media among young people.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
